Below is a listing of one hundred and five business ideas thought of by middle and high school students. Hopefully this listing will illustrate the principle that business ideas are a dime a dozen and it is always the execution that counts. I encourage you to read “It’s not the Idea, It’s the Execution” after finishing this article as well as “Business Idea and Opportunity Evaluation.”

The following ideas were brainstormed by fourteen high school students in a 90 minute period on July 20, 2003.

1. underwater restaurant
2. spa franchise
3. foldable hammock for car trunks
4. high quality light fixtures
5. health bar chain
6. comfy, damage-free ear phones
7. chair with popcorn holder, tray, built-in radio, massager
8. self-cleaning microwave
9. security software to protect against hackers and credit card scams
10. wholesale store without membership card

11. aerobic center for teenagers
12. chair store w/ imported European chocolate
13. restaurants for dogs and cats
14. oxygen tanks so dogs and cats can go diving
15. computer animation company
16. real estate company
17. cosmetics/hair care company
18. bowling alley in Cartagena, Columbia
19. Store that makes custom clothes
20. electronic translator that you put in your ear
21. fashion design company for new designers that need a start
22. iron rod production
23. selling traditional jewelry
24. brail screen that reads computer and translates the text on a computer into 3D brail that the blind could read
25. lumber company
26. Make a ski board rotating wardrobe at ski resorts
27. flavored straws
28. A grocery store that also had a fitness center
29. a diagonal load dishwasher
30. sushi restaurant
31. Candyland theme park chain
32. web design/advertising company
33. per month CD online company
34. educational software for the visually impaired
35. bringing broadband internet access into developing countries
36. Sonar for blind people
37. voice/data equipment for hospitals
38. drink machine that talks to you.
39. a teddy bear with sensors and small computer inside that would talk to infants/toddlers and encourage good behavior or tell them a bed-time story
40. an online store where you could customize clothing and then have it shipped to you
41. an educational software company that made console games for kids that were actually fun to play.

The following ideas were brainstormed by fourteen middle school students in a 90 minute period on July 27, 2003.

1. New brand of cola
2. Monorail company
3. triangular and circular houses
4. interchangeable shoes
5. internet café
6. pens that never from out of ink
7. new type of fuel
8. hovercars
9. new internet service provider
10. college/cheerleader calendars
11. college/male athlete calendars
12. voice-activated radio/TV
13. voice activated hourse
14. remote control finder
15. voice activated keys
16. hydrogen powered cars
17. easy wrinkle remover
18. never-ending bottle of soda
19. underwear with pockets
20. new clothing line
21. donut store
22. shoe pockets
23. wireless TV headseats
24. haircoloring shampoo
25. desks with build in computers
26. text books on computers
27. automatic dog food dispenser
28. remote control lawnmower
29. washer-dryer all in one combo
30. color eye drops
31. mechanical spiders
32. MP3 player watch
33. watch that automatically knows what time zone it’s in
34. butt-wiping toilets
35. better toothpaste
36. virus protection
37. toothbrush with toothpaste in it
38. video phone
39. logo changing shirt
40. solar color changing shirt
41. solar powered sports cars
42. color changing nail polish
43. TV on cell phones
44. personal soda dispenser
45. voice-controlled air conditioning system
46. resort
47. color changing hair bow
48. voice activated elevators
49. phone/tv/radio in a shower
50. sponges with built in soap
51. self-moving furniture
52. multi-colored markets
53. reversible backpacks
54. student tracker system
55. remote to control of your appliances
56. sneakers with comfortable insides
57. auto food/water dispenser for animals for when family is away for a few days
58. vacuum with perfume in it
59. trash can with perfume in it
60. real-looking pony tail that hooks in your hair
61. 3 in 1 paint color can
62. refrigerator that has an alarm for bad food
63. cat food dispenser
64. boats that give a smooth ride

Now that your creative juices are flowing, I encourage to learn how to evaluate business ideas in ‘How to Evaluate Business Ideas and Opportunities.”


This Young Entrepreneurship article was written by Ryan P Allis on 2/9/2005

Ryan P. Allis, 20, is the author of Zero to One Million, a guide to building a company to $1 million in sales, and the founder of zeromillion.com. Ryan is also the CEO of Broadwick Corp., a provider of the permission-based email marketing software and CEO of Virante, Inc., a web marketing and search engine optimization firm. Ryan is an economics major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he is a Blanchard Scholar. [learn more].